Organizational Creative Capabilities

3Methods, Tools and Spaces for Revealing Employee Creativity

Materiality holds a central place in creativity management. One only needs to observe the number of differently colored Post-it notes exchanged during brainstorming sessions or the multiple templates used by managers and consultants to reevaluate the organization’s strategy, develop new products, or innovate business models to realize this. The management of creative processes increasingly involves the use of various artifacts and methods, each with its preferred tools, to stimulate, structure, and unveil the creativity of the organization's collaborators. Furthermore, we are witnessing a growing trend of spaces dedicated to creativity in organizations, such as rooms equipped with whiteboards for ideation. These spaces are designed to encourage internal collaboration, collaboration with external stakeholders, or to immerse employees in a more playful or unconventional environment to boost their creativity. This materiality enables managers to “equip” individuals and teams to foster creative behavior in the workplace. In this context, “equipping” refers to providing methods, tools, artifacts, and other organizational techniques for facilitating creative activities. It also implies training staff in creativity methods, so that they can take ownership of the creative techniques and take the initiative to organize creativity sessions when necessary. While numerous articles and examples showcase various methods, tools, ...